Attractive ladies shoes having elevated heels, i.e., heels between one and a half and four inches, are generally characterized by being uncomfortable because the weight of a wearer bears against a thin inner sole sheet, which in turn bears against a hard outer sole, possibly through the intermediary of a thin sole liner. The combination of the foot bearing against the hard surface of the sole, without cushioning and the unnatural, upper raised heel position frequently prevents ladies from wearing such shoes for prolonged time intervals and is often a deterrent to wearing such shoes for walking purposes.
To provide greater comfort, ladies shoes have been designed with outer soles covered by relatively thick cushions, i.e., cushions having thicknesses of more than one half inch, fabricated from various materials, such as foam, jute, and rubber. Uppers, typically formed of straps, buckles, or other conventional fastening means, as well as the cushions, are secured, by glue or sewing, to the outer sole. Such shoes generally have flat heels and almost invariably are much less attractive than shoes having medium or high heels with a hard outer sole and no cushion. In addition, it has been found that tension is exerted by the wearer upon the uppers of such shoes. The tension tends to separate the uppers, and occasionally the cushions, from the outer soles, with resulting deleterious effects on the life of the shoe.
It has also been a prior art practice to provide ladies shoes with continuous side walls around a periphery of an inner sole. This structure imparts strength and stiffness to the shoes but causes the shoe to be uncomfortable and not as attractive as shoes that do not have the continuous side walls. The lack of comfort occurs because the side wall causes irritation and chafing between the heel of the wearer and the side wall.
It is, accordingly, an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved ladies shoe.
Another object of the invention is to provide a new and improved ladies shoe that is comfortable, light weight, sleek and attractive.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved ladies shoe that is comfortable, light weight, sleek, attractive and has a relatively long life.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved ladies shoe having a medium or high heel with a hard outer sole, yet which is attractive, sleek, comfortable, light weight and is durable.